101 search hits

Relying on the existing estimates for the production cross sections of mini black holes in models with large extra dimensions, we review strategies for identifying those objects at collider experiments. We further consider a possible stable final state of such black holes and discuss their characteristic signatures. Keywords: Black holes

We discuss the present collective flow signals for the phase transition to the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and the collective flow as a barometer for the equation of state (EoS). We emphasize the importance of the flow excitation function from 1 to 50A GeV: here the hydrodynamicmodel has predicted the collapse of the v1-flow at ~ 10A GeV and of the v2-flow at ~ 40A GeV. In the latter case, this has recently been observed by the NA49 collaboration. Since hadronic rescattering models predict much larger flow than observed at this energy, we interpret this observation as potential evidence for a first order phase transition at high baryon density pB.

Background: In this interdisciplinary project, the biological effects of heavy ions are compared to those of X-rays using tissue slice culture preparations from rodents and humans. Advantages of this biological model are the conservation of an organotypic environment and the independency from genetic immortalization strategies used to generate cell lines. Its open access allows easy treatment and observation via live-imaging microscopy. Materials and methods: Rat brains and human brain tumor tissue are cut into 300 micro m thick tissue slices. These slices are cultivated using a membrane-based culture system and kept in an incubator at 37°C until treatment. The slices are treated with X-rays at the radiation facility of the University Hospital in Frankfurt at doses of up to 40 Gy. The heavy ion irradiations were performed at the UNILAC facility at GSI with different ions of 11.4 A MeV and fluences ranging from 0.5–10 x 106 particles/cm². Using 3D-confocal microscopy, cell-death and immune cell activation of the irradiated slices are analyzed. Planning of the irradiation experiments is done with simulation programs developed at GSI and FIAS. Results: After receiving a single application of either X-rays or heavy ions, slices were kept in culture for up to 9d post irradiation. DNA damage was visualized using gamma H2AXstaining. Here, a dose-dependent increase and time-dependent decrease could clearly be observed for the X-ray irradiation. Slices irradiated with heavy ions showed less gamma H2AX-positive cells distributed evenly throughout the slice, even though particles were calculated to penetrate only 90–100 micro m into the slice. Conclusions: Single irradiations of brain tissue, even at high doses of 40 Gy, will result neither in tissue damage visible on a macroscopic level nor necrosis. This is in line with the view that the brain is highly radio-resistant. However, DNA damage can be detected very well in tissue slices using gamma H2AX-immuno staining. Thus, slice cultures are an excellent tool to study radiation-induced damage and repair mechanisms in living tissues.

The interplay of charmonium production and suppression in In+In and Pb+Pb reactions at 158 AGeV and in Au+Au reactions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV is investigated with the HSD transport approach within the hadronic comover model' and the QGP melting scenario'. The results for the J/Psi suppression and the Psi' to J/Psi ratio are compared to the recent data of the NA50, NA60, and PHENIX Collaborations. We find that, at 158 AGeV, the comover absorption model performs better than the scenario of abrupt threshold melting. However, neither interaction with hadrons alone nor simple color screening satisfactory describes the data at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. A deconfined phase is clearly reached at RHIC, but a theory having the relevant degrees of freedom in this regime (strongly interacting quarks/gluons) is needed to study its transport properties.

We discuss the present collective flow signals for the phase transition to quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and the collective flow as a barometer for the equation of state (EoS). A study of Mach shocks induced by fast partonic jets propagating through the QGP is given. We predict a significant deformation of Mach shocks in central Au+Au collisions at RHIC and LHC energies as compared to the case of jet propagation in a static medium. Results of a hydrodynamical study of jet energy loss are presented.

The properties of symmetric nuclear matter are investigated in the nonlinear relativistic mean field theory of nuclear matter. We consider the constraints imposed by four nuclear ground state properties on the coupling constants and on the equation of state at zero and at finite temperature. We find that the compression constant K(&#961;0) as well as the temperature is irrelevant for the stiffness of the equation of state for m*(&#961;0)&#8804;0.7. The main point is that the relativistic mean field theory exhibits acausal and unphysical behavior for compressibilities below K(&#961;0)=200 MeV. Every set of coupling constants with a negative quartic coupling constant c is unstable against small quantum fluctuations.

We present a mechanism for the separation of strangeness from antistrangeness in the deconfinement transition. For a net strangeness of zero in the total system, the population of s quarks is greatly enriched in the quark-gluon plasma, while the s¯ quarks drift into the hadronic phase. This separation could result in ‘‘strangelet’’ formation, i.e., metastable blobs of strange-quark matter, which could serve as a unique signature for quark-gluon plasma formation in heavy-ion collisions. PACS: 25.70.Np, 12.38.Mh

Collisions of Si(14.5A GeV+Au are investigated in the relativistic-quantum-molecular-dynamics approach. The calculated pseudorapidity distributions for central collisions compare well with recent experimental data, indicating a large degree of nuclear stopping and thermalization. Nevertheless, nonequilibrium effects play an important role in such complex multihadron reactions: They lead to a strong enhancement of the total kaon production cross sections, in good agreement with the experimental data, without requiring the formation of a deconfined quark-gluon plasma.

Up to now no experimentally feasible method for detecting abnormal nuclear states has been known. We propose to observe them in high-energy heavy-ion collisions through the disappearance of, or irregularities in, high-density nuclear Mach shock phenomena.